Academians
by capm
Summary: It's time to pick Bev High's representatives for the game show, Academians! Sam is going to have to work around the spies' mission, to try and secure a spot on the team! And, of course, Mandy is going to try to throw a monkey wrench into Sam's plan!
1. Chapter 1 The Challenge

**Chapter 1 – The Challenge**

Beverly Hills High is all aflutter! Today and tomorrow are the days the school will pick it's 2-student representative team, plus 1 alternate, for the TV show _Academians_. All schools win something from the show, but the first place team wins a state-of-the-art Computer and Science lab!

Of course, one of the finalists is Sam.

"Gee, Sammy! Good luck at the tryouts today and tomorrow!" says Alex.

"We'll be rooting for you!" adds Clover.

"Thanks, gals, it's nice to have someone pulling for you!" says an obviously excited Sam. "I'm really excited about the competition!"

"You'll need all the help you can get!" says Mandy as she breaks in. "I'm going to finish first and claim the Captain's Armband! Then I get to decide who will represent Beverly Hills High out of the finalists!!"

"PPLLLEASE Mandy," exclaims Clover, "like YOU have any chance of beating Sam!"

"Yeah," adds Alex, "you may be smart, but no one is smarter than our Sammy!!"

Sam blushes, "I am not really THAT smart, girls!"

"I'll say your not! I'll beat the designer pants off of you and everyone else," squeals Mandy, as she departs.

Sam is a bit perturbed, as she looks annoyingly at the retreating Mandy.

"The only thing bigger than Mandy's opinion of herself is the National Debt!" Clover says to Sam.

Alex adds, "I think it's a tie!"

Sam says, with determination, "OK, Miss Mandy! You're on! We'll see who's smarter!"

"That's the spirit, Sammy! You can beat her!" says Alex.

But, of course, Mandy isn't going to play fair. "I have to play on that girl-nerd's sympathies! I have to INSURE I win!" she thinks to herself.

While Mandy is lost in her plan to derail Sam, Cliff approaches her and says, "Hi, Mandy! Want to go to the movies tomorrow?" Cliff is a pretty good-looking guy, and he's smart too. Just the bait to trip up that Sam!

"Well, Cliff, I first need you to do me a favor!"

Cliff is beside himself with joy! He has been trying to get Mandy to go out with him for almost a month! "Sure, Mandy! What is it?"

"As you know, we have the _Academian_ competition today and tomorrow. I'm going to win, of course, but you can make it easier for me if you can get that Samantha Simpson to feel sorry for you, and blow the competition, so she doesn't make the team!" Mandy says sweetly.

"Well, I don't know....," says Cliff. What's in this for him, he wonders.

"If you succeed, I'll go with you to the movies, and be your girlfriend for the rest of this month!"

Cliff's jaw drops! What a reward! "Ok, I'll do it!"

"Fine!" says Mandy, as Cliff goes off on his cloud. She laughs softly to herself. "That should take care of Sam!"

The first contest is chess. The top 16 ranked students in chess will compete. Sam breezes through the first two rounds, as does Cliff, Mandy, and Matt. Mandy is able to work the draw.

"Darryl!" Mandy calls to the President of the Chess Club. The two go off into a quiet corner of the room. "If you can work the semi-finals so that Sam faces Cliff, and I face Matt, I'll let you treat me to lunch on Saturday at the Mall!"

Darryl figures he'll take advantage of this situation. That was going to be the draw anyways, and now Mandy will owe him a lunch date! "Ok, Mandy! I'll do it! Now don't forget! We have a lunch date at the Mall Saturday!"

"Certainly!" coos Mandy. Her plan is taking form!

Darryl announces the pairings for the semi-finals. "In the first semi-final match on chessboard number 1, Mandy will face Matt! The second semi-final match will be held on chessboard 2, and pit Sam against Cliff!"

Cliff immediately goes to work on Sam. He says loud enough for Sam to hear, "I sure hope I win this match! If I don't make the first team, I'll be grounded for the rest of the year by my parents!" Clover and Alex also hear Cliff, but blow him off.

Sam feels a twinge of sympathy for Cliff. He's a nice enough guy. She can let him beat her at chess. And she does. Sam makes an uncharacteristic blunder that is so obvious, the observers in the crowd let out a collective gasp! Even Clover and Alex can see it!

"What is Sam doing?" asks Alex unbelievingly, from among the observers.

"I don't know! Even I know that's a major blunder!" says an aghast Clover, also from the crowd.

And due to her 'blunder', Sam loses to Cliff, who makes it to the finals. But there is a fly in the ointment, and a snag in Mandy's plan! Matt beats Mandy in their match, and Mandy knows Sam and Matt are good friends, so there is no way she can persuade Matt to set Sam up, or take a fall for her. Matt goes on to beat Cliff as well. Score after first event: Matt 1, Cliff 2, Mandy 3, and Sam 4.

The gals talk to Sam after her match.

"Sammy, what happened? Are you feeling ok?" asks a concerned Alex.

"I'm fine, Alex," says Sam.

"Then why did you make that move in your last game, Sam? Even I know that was a major error!" says Clover.

"I guess I wasn't paying enough attention," says Sam.

Alex and Clover can see that they are starting to upset Sam, so they drop the subject and accompany her to the next competition: the Spelling Bee.

"That's ok, Sammy! You'll knock 'em dead in this competition!" says Alex.

"Right, Sam! You're the reigning school Champ! We'll be pulling for you in the crowd!" says Clover.

"Thanks, guys! I'll do my best!" says Sam, as she goes to the contestant's area.

"Sam should rock in this competition!" says Alex confidently.

"Right! She's the reigning Spelling Bee School Champion! She'll erase that chess loss here!" remarks Clover.

The contest is soon reduced to four contestants: Sam, Mandy, Matt and Cliff. Cliff once again plays his sympathy card and Sam falls for it again. Clover and Alex also hear Cliff and wonder what he's complaining about. But, again the fly in the ointment is Mandy herself. She is the first of the final four to misspell a word. But Sam is the next to misspell a word, to the astonishment of the crowd!

"Clover, I can't believe that just happened! Sam misspelled 'pteridophyte', the very word she spelled correctly to win the School Championship!"

"I know Alex, what's wrong with her?" asks a concerned Clover.

Again, Matt wins the competition, with Cliff coming in second. The scores at the end of the first day of competition: Matt 2, Cliff 4, Mandy 7, and Sam 7. But after the competition, Matt approaches Clover and Alex. There's something wrong with Sam!

"Sam isn't herself. She should have easily won both of those competitions, yet she's tied for third. I think someone is playing Sam for a chump!" Matt says.

"I agree! Sammy should have cruised in both of those competitions!" says Alex.

"We'd better check it out," says Clover.

Soon Sam joins the threesome. Matt says, "Better luck tomorrow, Sam! I'm sure you'll do better! Something was bothering you today!" With that, Matt goes on his way.

"Is there something wrong, Sammy? Don't you want to talk about it?" asks a concerned Alex.

"No, I'm fine!" Sam insists. The gals can see that trying to press Sam will only get her angry. They'll have to figure this one out on their own.


	2. Chapter 2 Plagiarism

**Chapter 2 - Plagiarism**

As the gals walk down the hallway, they are WOOHP'd by a soda machine. They hope to be back for the next round of competition tomorrow, but they have work to do today.

"Whoaaaaa!"

"Greetings, ladies! How refreshing to see you again! Get it? Soda machine? Refreshing?" says Jerry.

The gals let out a collective groan.

"Moving right along, what's up, Jerry?" asks Clover. Sam seems to be in another world, thinking about Cliff and his predicament with his parents.

"Sam? Sam! Are you all right?" asks a concerned Jerry.

Sam embarrassingly responds, "Sorry, Jerry! I wasn't paying attention."

"Sam, all three of you must focus on this mission! This mission is very important. The Nobel Prizes will be awarded this afternoon, but it looks like someone has plagiarized another's work, in order to get the Prize. Your mission is to determine if that is true, and stop it if it is. And now for your gadgets: laser lipsticks; bungee belts; backpack parachutes; m-ray contacts; and nightvision sunglasses."

"Where do we start, Jerry?" asks Alex.

"At the Atomic Research Lab in Los Alamos. Now, goodbye!" and the gals are off.

The gals are flown via WOOHP jet to Los Alamos where they use their backpack parachutes to arrive at a point just outside of the Lab. They want to talk to Doctor Getts, the expert on nuclear fusion at the Lab.

"Ok, gals! Our cover is that we are science reporters doing an article on Nuclear Fusion," says Sam.

"Ok, Sammy!" replies Alex.

"Right!" says Clover.

The girls enter the lab and talk to the receptionist.

"We're science reporters and we are here to see Dr. Getts for an article in our magazine. We know he has been nominated for a Nobel Prize for his work," says Sam.

The receptionist calls Dr. Getts' secretary. "Ms. Albers will be here shortly to escort you to Dr. Getts' office."

Within five minutes, Ms. Albers has arrived and takes the spies to Dr. Getts office.

The gals introduce themselves.

"Hello Dr. Getts. We're with a scientific magazine here to discuss your Nobel nominated work on Nuclear Fusion. We want to run an article for our next issue," says Sam.

"Ah....., why thank you. But I really don't have time for interviews! Please leave a list of questions, with your e-mail address, and I'll forward the answers," replies Dr. Getts. He then calls Security. "Sergeant, please escort these ladies off the Lab grounds!" which he does.

"Rude much!" says Clover.

"He sure didn't seem to want to discuss his Nobel nominated work, did he?" asks Alex.

"That's strange! A prestigious award nomination, and he doesn't want to talk about it? We'd better check this out! He didn't strike me as the 'shy, introverted genius' type!" says Sam, as she dons the m-ray contact lenses. As she scans the Lab, she notices the good doctor entering a secret panel! Something isn't right. The gals decide to investigate.

They sneak back onto the Lab grounds and use their bungee belts to get to the roof of the Labs. Alex then uses her laser lipstick to get into the air vent shaft before the surveillance camera swings back and catches them. They crawl through the air vent to Dr. Getts' office. Cautiously, Clover lasers open the air vent cover and the girls enter the office.

"Ok, gals! We have to find that secret door switch!" says Sam quietly. The gals begin searching the office.

"BINGO!" says Alex triumphantly, as she hits the hidden switch on the bookcase, and the spies enter into a dark tunnel. The door quickly closes behind them. They all don their nightvision sunglasses and follow the corridor. Soon they see a room with a metal door. They are about to investigate it, when it swings open. They quickly dissolve back into the dark corridor and watch what transpires.

Staying hidden, they see Dr. Getts exit the door saying, "Soon I'll be a Nobel Prize winner," then he adds sarcastically, "thanks to you!!!!" and he leaves laughing, relocking the door.

The girls cautiously approach the door.

"Keep a sharp eye out, while I laser this door lock!" says Clover. Soon the door is open and the spies enter a cell like room. There is a man who appears to be a scientist here.

"Who...who are you?" asks the stunned man.

"We're friends from WOOHP! We've come to help you!" says Sam.

"Don't worry about me! Dr. Getts has my wife as a prisoner! If I don't do as he says, he will destroy her!"

"But who are you?"

"I'm Dr. Clarke, a nuclear fusion researcher. Dr. Getts kidnapped me and my wife so I would give him what he wants!"

"What exactly does he want from you?" asks Clover

But it is Dr. Getts, with three burly henchmen who answers. "To provide me with nuclear fusion research. I claim it in my own name, and then I win a Nobel Prize!!!"

"But you can't keep up that charade long! Sooner or later someone is going to want you to work on a project, and when you flop, they'll know you were a fraud!!" says Sam.

"Ah, but if I would have an accident, and hit my head causing loss of memory, no one would know! And if the good Doctor Clarke and his wife would never show up again, no one would be the wiser! That includes you three pests too!! Seize them!" and the henchmen do.

Dr Getts and his henchmen take the gals, Dr. Clarke and his wife to a small room made of metal, with only one door and no windows. There is a menacing looking gun like structure at one end of the small room.

"There is no escape from this room. I will turn on my nuclear reactor. You are seated in the fusion chamber. Once it reaches the necessary power, it will start a chain reaction! A reaction that should dismember each of you into microns!! I really wish I could stay and watch the fun, but I have a Nobel Prize to receive!!" With that Dr. Getts leaves laughing.

"We've got to get out of here! It only takes 5 minutes for the nuclear pile to reach the power needed to start that chain reaction!" says Dr. Clarke.

Quickly the gals laser their bonds along with Dr. Clarke and his wife's.

"We only have 4 minutes to get out of here!" says Sam, as she cuts a hole in the door with her laser lipstick.

"We must stop the reactor, or this whole place will blow up!" says Dr. Clarke.

All five people rush to the control room. Dr. Clarke works a number of switches, and is able to stop the reactor with 1 second left!

"Phew! That was too close!" says Alex.

"We have no time to lose! We've got to get to the Nobel Prize ceremony and capture Dr. Getts!" says Clover.

"Jerry?" says Sam, as she breaks out her compowder.

"Yes, Sam. How is the mission going?"

"Well, we've saved Dr. Clarke, the man who should really be receiving the Nobel Prize in Physics, but we have to stop Dr. Getts! We need to get to the Nobel Prize ceremony, fast!"

"How about by rocket assisted jet? Look up as you exit the front door of the lab!" says Jerry as a rocket/jet of WOOHP hovers over the spot. A rope ladder has been deployed.

"Thanks, Jerry!" the girls answer with glee, as they hang up.

Soon the little band is on its way to Stockholm. The gals drop Dr. Clarke and his wife off at the hotel. The ceremony will not begin for another two hours. They have to find Dr. Getts.

"Ok, spies. Let's go over to the Academy of Science and check their records! I'm sure they will note where the Nobel Prize winners are staying!" says Sam. Luckily, the Academy is only two blocks from the hotel. Soon the gals are at the front door.

"Wouldn't it be easier if we checked the records via the air vents?" asks Clover.

"Good idea! It will save time!" says Sam.

"Let's start bungeeing!" says Alex.

Within minutes, the gals are on the roof of the Academy. Sam lasers open the air vent cover, and the gals lower themselves into the air vent using their bungee belts.

"We have to find the Itinerary Office. They should have all the arrangements for all of the prize winners!" says Sam quietly, as the gals crawl through the vents.

It takes them about ten minutes, but they finally find the Itinerary Office. Sam quietly removes the vent cover in the office, and bungees to the floor. Clover and Alex stay put in the air vent, as lookouts.

Quickly Sam goes to a computer and starts to punch in information. It quickly prints out the accommodations for all of the prize winners. She grabs the paper and goes back to her bungee belt. She climbs back into the air vent and replaces the cover, just as a worker enters the room!

The gals work their way back to the roof, and climb out of the vent.

"Let's see where Dr. Getts is staying!" says Sam, as the three gals search the paper.

"BINGO! He's at a hotel three blocks from here! Let's go pay him a little visit!" says Clover.


	3. Chapter 3 Best Laid Plans

**Chapter 3 – Best Laid Plans**

While the gals are off looking for Dr. Getts, Dr. Clarke and his wife decide to take a walk.

"It's a beautiful day, isn't it Rachel?"

"Yes it is, Gene! Thank goodness for those girls from WOOHP! Thanks to them, we can still enjoy things like this! Plus, you'll be receiving a Nobel Prize!! I'm so proud!!"

"Thank you, dear!"

But their little walk doesn't go unnoticed.

"WHA.....WHAT ARE THEY DOING HERE?" says a shocked Dr. Getts to his henchmen. "GET THEM!"

As Dr. Clarke and his wife turn a corner, they are confronted by three goons. Not wishing to expose his wife to any danger, Dr. Clarke quickly reverses field with her to run in the opposite direction. But, unfortunately there are three more goons behind them! They are soon captured, and brought before Dr. Getts.

"So! You escaped my nuclear pile! Well you won't escape this time! I can't afford to have you wrecking my plan! Laddy! Bind and gag them both! They're going to be going for a little swim in the river behind this hotel!"

Laddy does what he is told, and Dr. Clarke and his wife are bound and gagged. Laddy is about to take them to the river to throw them in, when Dr. Getts says, "Wait up, Laddy! I'm sure the good doctor didn't escape on his own! Those pesky girl reporters must have helped him! Let's wait for them! They seem pretty resourceful, and should be here soon! Then we can dispose of all five of them at once!"

Dr.Getts is correct. The gals are just entering his hotel.

"Should we bungee to the window and surprise him?" asks Alex.

"No! Let's take the direct approach! He doesn't know we are here! We'll pose as room service and knock at his hotel room door!" says Sam.

So saying, the girls commandeer a room service cart, Clover and Alex hide in the bottom shelf and Sam wheels the cart to Dr. Getts' room.

Sam knocks, "Room Service!"

Soon the door is open, and Sam triumphantly wheels the cart into the room. She sees Dr. Getts off to her right.

"Got ya!" she says, as Alex and Clover make their appearance. But Dr. Getts has a surprise of his own.

"Oh, I think not!" and he shows the gals Dr. Clarke and his wife tied up between two goons with crowbars. "Make any move toward me, and Dr. Clarke, or his beautiful wife get hammered!"

Realizing that they can't endanger Dr. Clarke or his wife, the spies surrender without a struggle, and are soon bound and gagged as well.

"Now I'll get rid of all five of you at once! Laddy, throw them into the river! I have to get to the Nobel Prize Ceremony!"

Laddy and two other goons puts all five people on the conveniently provided food service cart, put a white table cloth over it, and takes them to the river behind the hotel. But they are in for a shock when Laddy takes the tablecloth off of the cart! The gals have lasered their bonds and have freed Dr. Clarke and his wife.

Sam slams a goon in the solar plexus with a front kick! "Sorry! I'm not in the mood for a swim right now!"

Alex nails another in the head with a flying kick. "Didn't your Mom teach you that your not supposed to swim within an hour of eating?"

Clover nails Laddy with a front kick "I spent two hours on my hair this morning! You're NOT going to get it wet!"

With the three goons neutralized and handcuffed, Sam says, "Come on! We still have time to get to the Nobel Ceremony before it's too late!" The five hail a taxi and are on their way!

Meanwhile, Dr. Getts has arrived at the Academy. He has instructed his remaining three goons to remain outside and ensure no interruptions. "It's time for me to get what I deserve!" he says greedily. He knows that the prize comes with a check for $160,000! He can't wait!

The gals notice one of the goons stationed outside, about one block away from the Academy. "Driver, stop here! Girls, here's where we get out! Dr. Clarke, stay here for about five minutes, then go to the Academy!" instructs Sam, as the spies exit the taxi.

"What's the plan, Sammy?" asks Alex.

"Obviously Getts has deployed his goons to prevent any interruptions. Let's take them one at a time!"

So saying Alex innocently walks up to the first goon, taps him on the shoulder and says sweetly, "Pardon me? Can you help me?" As the goon turns to face her, she nails him with a roundhouse kick knocking him out. "That was fine, thank you!" she says as she handcuffs him.

Clover approaches the next goon, "Could you help a lost woman?" she asks syrupy sweetly. As he turns to face her, she nails him with a front kick and karate chop. "Thanks! I'm fine now!" she says as she handcuffs him.

Sam taps the third goon on the shoulder, "Excuse me!" As he turns, she says, "You're in the way of the rightful Nobel prize winner!" as she nails him with a solid side kick, and handcuffs him.

As if on cue, the taxi with Dr. Clarke and his wife pulls up to the Academy. They exit the cab and enter, as Alex hits her WOOHP distress button.

The ceremony is in full swing. "Now, for the Nobel Prize in Physics, the winner is...." But before the presenter can finish, the gals bungee to the stage and Dr. Clarke appears on stage opposite Dr. Getts.

"The winner is Dr. Eugene Clarke the man who REALLY did the research on Nuclear Fusion that was stolen by Dr. Getts!!!" says Sam. A gasp is heard throughout the auditorium.

Dr. Getts tries to recover. "That's a lie! I did the research!"

Sam says, "Well that should be easy enough to ascertain! Ladies and Gentlemen of the Academy, come up with a question that only the real researcher can answer!"

"Excellent idea, young lady!" says the presenter, as he and five other scientists huddle. The gals watch the scientists' huddle and are keeping an eye on Dr. Clarke as well as Dr. Getts.

But the gals here a crash from behind Dr. Clarke. They turn to see what's going on, only to find that a janitor accidentally ran into a trash can. They turn back, only to find Dr. Getts has escaped!

Dr. Getts knew he couldn't answer any questions but the most basic ones on nuclear fusion! He decided to quietly slip out, when he got the chance!

"Come on, gals! We have a plagiarizer to capture!" says Sam. The gals run toward the side of the stage Dr. Getts was at.

The chase is on! Dr. Getts quickly runs out of the Academy and was going to hail a taxi, but he was confronted by a number of WOOHP agents. He quickly darted into an alley, as the gals come out of the Academy.

"Which way did he go?" Clover asks a WOOHP agent.

"Into the alley!" he replies. The agents are picking up the handcuffed goons the gals left for them.

Quickly the gals enter the alley! Dr. Getts is upending trashcans and boxes, to make it difficult for the gals to follow him.

"Ok ladies, I'm going up top! You keep following him down here!" says Clover, as she bungees to the roof and follows Dr. Getts unimpeded. Sam and Alex keep following Getts on the ground.

Dr. Getts emerges from the alley and sees a taxi waiting for a fare. He makes a mad dash for it! Just as he is about to enter the back seat, Clover lands on him from above! Soon Alex and Sam join her.

"You're not leaving without your prize, are you Dr. Getts?" Clover chides, as she handcuffs him.

"Excellent work, ladies!" congratulates Jerry, as he takes Dr. Getts into custody.

The gals return to the Academy of Science just in time to see Dr. Clarke receive his richly deserved Nobel Prize for his work on Nuclear Fusion. He and his wife walk over to the spies.

"I can't thank you enough! You saved my wife, myself and my research! How can I ever repay you?" says a grateful Dr. Clarke.

"No prob!" says Alex.

"That's what we do!" says Sam.

"Well at least let us take you three out to dinner!" says Rachel. This the girls happily accept. Dr. and Mrs. Clarke treat them to an excellent meal, and soon they gals are on their way home. Dr. and Mrs. Clarke will remain in Stockholm for the rest of the festivities.

While enroute, Alex says, "You know, it's just plain lying and cheating to take someone else's work as your own!"

"It's almost as bad as letting someone cheat you out of your best work," adds Clover, as both she and Alex look at Sam. Sam catches their drift immediately.

"Your right! I should never have let Cliff brainwash me with his sob story! Come on gals! I have two contests to win tomorrow to make the _Academians_!" says Sam with gusto.

"Now THAT'S the Sammy we love!" says Alex as she gives Sam a big hug.

"Right! Show Cliff you're no chump, Sam!" says Clover as she also hugs Sam.

All three of the gals are eagerly looking forward to tomorrow. Clover and Alex are especially eager; they want to see Sam represent Beverly Hills High! They know that with her on the team, their school has an excellent chance of winning the new Science and Computer Lab!


	4. Chapter 4 Academian Challenge

**Chapter 4 – _Academian_ Challenge**

The next day Sam is ready! The first challenge is Science. The contest will be held similar to a _Jeopardy_ game, except there are four contestants instead of three. Once again the final four consists of Matt, Cliff, Mandy and Sam.

Cliff tries to use his sob story again. "Man, I really have to make the first team! I'll be grounded forever if I don't!" he says loud enough for Sam to hear. But she will not be dissuaded this time!

The Science challenge ends up being a battle between Matt and Sam. They have easily outdistanced Cliff and Mandy. It will come down to the final question! Sam has a 100 point lead on Matt and decides to wager her entire score on the final question. Unbeknownst to her, so does Matt. Cliff just wagers enough to finish ahead of Mandy. Mandy wagered zero, as she knew nothing about isotopes, the final category.

Cliff, Matt and Sam get the final answer correct! Sam wins! She is followed by Matt, Cliff and Mandy. The score now is: Matt 4, Cliff 7, Sam 8, and Mandy 11!

The final contest is Math. All participants are provided with a grueling 50-question exam! Cliff again tried his sob story, but Sam pays no attention.

It will take at least two hours to complete it! Students will only be allowed three hours total to finish it. Sam is the first to finish. She walks out of the exam room to where Clover and Alex are waiting.

"How did you do, girlfriend?" asks a concerned Alex.

"I think I did all right!" says Sam.

"That must have been one tough exam, Sam, if it took YOU two and a quarter hours to complete!" says Clover.

"It wasn't so much difficult, as a lot to do! I think I aced it!" says Sam confidently.

Because the exam was taken over the computer system, the grades are instantaneously available, after the last student finishes. The results show Sam winning, Matt in second, followed by Cliff and Mandy. The final _Academian_ standings are posted: Matt 6, Sam 8, Cliff 10, and Mandy 15.

"YOU DID IT, SAMMY!" squeals Alex in joy as she hugs Sam's neck.

"YOU MADE THE TEAM!" chortles Clover in joy as she also hugs Sam by the neck.

Mandy is furious with Cliff. "You blew it, buddy! No date for you!" says Mandy angrily to Cliff. "That was one pathetic attempt to distract Sam!" she continues.

But Cliff responds, "Mandy, even if I had beaten Sam, you STILL wouldn't have made the team! You finished fourth!"

Now Mandy was REALLY mad! How could Cliff point out her failing in front of all these people? Doesn't he have ANY consideration for her feelings? Mandy throws one of her A-Plus-Plus tantrums, and storms away!

By virtue of his first place finish, Matt is awarded the Captain's Armband. He will get to choose the two contestants for the show. But Matt says, "We all know who really deserves to be Captain! She wasn't herself yesterday, but this is really Sam's!" With that, Matt gives the Captain's Armband to a slightly embarrassed Sam, as the rest of the class cheers.

"Thanks, Matt," says Sam "you really are a true friend!"

Sam then makes the decision as to who will be on the show. "I am going to use the actual order of finish to determine who should appear on the _Academians_, and who will be an alternate. Therefore, Matt and I will be on the show, with Cliff as alternate!"

Cliff congratulates Sam, and says, "Thanks, Sam! I'm sorry I tried to distract you so you'd lose! Thanks for giving me the alternate's spot!"

"You won it, Cliff! So you deserve it! Apology also accepted!" says Sam happily.

As the school day comes to a close, Matt approaches Sam.

"Hey, Sam. How about a little chess match before we go home tonight?" asks Matt happily.

"You're on!" says a happy Sam. "And this time, no mercy!"

"We can follow the game up with a movie, if you like," says a smiling Matt.

"Ok, and loser pays for a latte!!" exclaims Sam.

"It's a bet!" says Matt as they happily go off together to the Chess Club room.

Clover and Alex happily watch Sam and Matt go off for their chess battle.

"Well, Clover, it looks like only you and I for the Mall, tonight!"

"That's OK Alex. We may see them at the Mall, and maybe all four of us can get a latte together!"


End file.
